Update:The West Genesee School District has moved it's 2010 graduation up a week to accommodate an as yet unnamed "national touring event" at the War Memorial.

The Oncenter complex is in the final round of negotiations for the event and must keep the June 19 date open that West Genesee had sought for its graduation ceremonies, said Sandy Baker, the Oncenter's vice president of sales and marketing.

Baker would not say what the national touring event is. "I can't wait to tell everybody," she said.

Syracuse, NY--The West Genesee School District has moved its 2010 graduation up a week to accommodate an out of town convention at the War Memorial.

Parents were notified in a letter that the new date is June 13.

The district began scrambling for a new location in July when Onondaga County notified it that could not keep its original graduation date of June 19 because the War Memorial is scheduled to host a convention, said schools Superintendent Christopher Brown. The district was told out-of-town conventions take precedence over local events, he said.

West Genesee spent the summer looking for a new location for the event that draws 4,000 to 5,000 people, he said. Most of the other local venues are too small to handle a crowd of that size, and the Carrier Dome was not available, Brown said.

The district traditionally doesn’t limit the number of people who can come to graduation, and it didn’t want to limit the 2010 ceremonies to just two or four tickets per graduate, he said.

Then two weeks ago, the War Memorial called to say that June 13 was open, and “we booked it right away,” Brown said.

Students will receive blank diploma holders when they walk across the stage since the ceremonies will take place before final exams, he said. They’ll receive their diplomas the Friday after exams, he said.

The class of 2011’s commencement ceremonies will return to the traditional date, Brown said.